Bus riders express their concerns to officials about public transportation service

Problems, possible solutions and some clarifications regarding public transit were traded by transportation officials and area bus riders Thursday evening in Fillmore.

Representatives of Gold Coast Transit and the Ventura County Transportation Commission met inside the One Step a la Vez center to discuss what the future holds for VISTA buses and the services it offers to the wide-ranging needs of its riders. Camarillo-based Roadrunner Shuttle temporarily took over VISTA lines from bankrupt Coach America, a Dallas company, in July.

Darren Kettle, executive director of the commission, spoke to the room of more than 40 people about the concerns he has heard in the Fillmore, Santa Paula and Piru communities. At the forefront of those concerns has been the urging to expand fixed bus routes to Ventura and some dissatisfaction with the general purpose Dial-A-Ride service.

Piru resident Maria Santa Rosa fell into the latter category. She told Kettle that the Dial-A-Ride services are so busy each morning that she can't make reservations to get her daughter to elementary school on time. She also said that her daughter has had to stand on the bus because of overcrowding.

Several members of youth advocacy group One Step have also been lobbying for more fixed bus routes to negate the need for overcrowded and inconsistent dial services.

"It's really consistent with what we've been hearing from the Fillmore and Piru communities," Kettle said.

Acting Fillmore City Manager Rigo Landeros was worried that a "cookie cutter" fixed route system might address the needs of some, but not the entire city. He questioned if the commission had considered what fixed route locations might mean for senior citizens and disabled people less mobile than younger riders.

"It's my responsibility to look at the whole city," Landeros said. "Transit has become more and more important. I think we need to be open to anything."

One way to bridge the two issues is by providing both expanded fixed routes and the Dial-A-Ride services, Kettle said. There are a couple options in making that work financially — buying the VISTA-operated buses to cut down on overall costs or raising fares for Dial-A-Ride services, he said.

He said if both riding options were offered, dial services might become less congested as people use the fixed routes.

However, none of those ideas are concrete and the commission is still working on a finalized Heritage Valley plan. The most important thing will be that riders take advantage of the services when they are offered, Kettle said.

"It costs public agencies a substantial amount of money to run these services," Kettle said. "We want to keep them there, but they've got to be utilized."

Helene Buchman, director of planning and marketing for Gold Coast Transit, also spoke to officials and riders about its plans. Gold Coast plans to become its own district so it can provide more services and make it competitive for state and local funds, Buchman said.

Cities not currently a Gold Coast member, such as Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula, would have the option of joining or contracting for service, Buchman said. Gold Coast would not force membership on cities, Buchman said.

There is no timeline when the formation of the district might take place. First, legislation would have to be drafted and a state law passed, Buchman said.

Councilmen-elect Douglas Tucker, Rick Neal and Manuel Minjares attended the meeting. Minjares said the newly elected officials look forward to brushing up on the issues facing public transit in the city.

The discussions between riders and officials, hosted by One Step, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy and Ventura County bus riders coalitions ASERT and Ventura County Bus Riders Union, will continue, possibly in February, in Santa Paula.